North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short track located in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The track opened on May 18, 1947, and hosted races in NASCAR's top three series from 1949 until its closure in 1996. The 0.625-mile facility was built by Enoch Staley, Lawson Curry, Jack Combs, and Charlie Combs. The frontstretch of the track was downhill, while the backstretch had an uphill slope.
On May 22, 1995, Staley died from a stroke. In less than a month, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. bought fifty percent of shares from the Combs family. The Staley family declined to sell to Speedway Motorsports Inc. because they did not trust the organization's CEO, Bruton Smith. On January 1, 1996, the Staley family sold their fifty percent share of the speedway to Bob Baher, owner of New Hampshire Motor Speedway at the time. Because Bahr and Smith owned other tracks on the NASCAR circuit, they decided to take the dates North Wilkesboro had to their other facilities. Smith took the spring date from North Wilkesboro to the newly built Texas Motor Speedway, while Bahre added a second date to his facility in New Hampshire. The track closed in 1996.
Since its closing, there have been numerous attempts to buy the facility and open it up to racing. In 2003, Junior Johnson and a group of investors considered buying the facility, but after a multitude of issues, the idea was shuttered in 2004. In 2003, Robert Glen, a local realtor in Wilkes County, organized a community petition for the county commissioners to condemn the speedway and through eminent domain sell to an investor to repurpose the facility for auto racing. However, the county commissioners decided that this would not be the best option. In the fall of 2004, Roush Racing hosted its "Race for the Ride" testing session at the speedway for its television show that showcased drivers competing for a ride in the 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season. In 2005, STS Motorsports Inc., a group founded by Rob Marsden, attempted to bring racing back to the speedway. This group began a petition that caught the attention of Smith and Bahre. At that time, the track was valued by county tax assessors at $4.83 million, while Smith and Bahre agreed to sell the track for $12 million.
Save the Speedway attempted to find a buyer, while gathering interests that people still wanted to use the track for racing and as a testing facility. The organization found a New York real estate developer to help rally investors, but the attempt failed when neither party could reach an agreement. In January 2007, Bahere and Smith announced they had agreed to let a real estate company attempt to sell the track for the $12 million asking price. In September 2007, Worth Mitchell, a land developer, announced plans to purchase the speedway, but no further information was provided. On November 8, 2007, Bahre sold his share of the speedway to Smith as part of Smith's deal to buy New Hampshire Motor Speedway. From 2010 to 2011, the USAR ProCup Series, ASA Late Model Series and PASS Super Late Model Series announced that they would be running events on the grounds of North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Despite racing being dormant at the facility, North Wilkesboro has been featured in several NASCAR-related video games, TV shows, music videos and movies.
